


cuddles are good for the soul

by stupidbadgers



Category: Naruto
Genre: Cuddles, Established Relationship, M/M, even though that just means he cuddles him and tells him to sleep, exhausted iruka, kakashi takes care of him, purely self-indulgent, the man is working too hard
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-06-27
Updated: 2020-06-27
Packaged: 2021-03-04 05:27:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24948430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/stupidbadgers/pseuds/stupidbadgers
Summary: cuddles don't solve everything, but they can make things a little more manageable.
Relationships: Hatake Kakashi/Umino Iruka
Comments: 15
Kudos: 107





	cuddles are good for the soul

**Author's Note:**

> i just started a new job that has a ridiculous schedule (8-12 hour shifts and i never know what it's going to be until i'm 7 hours into the shift and only one day off a week) and i'm handling it as well as one might expect (crying, there's a lot of crying), so please enjoy this definitely not me projecting onto iruka story where he gets cuddles (someone please come cuddle me).
> 
> also, a big thank you and shout out to everyone in the umino hours discord for being so supportive and loving. y'all are so amazing and i love you guys.

It was half past midnight when Iruka finally came through the door, his feet dragging. He struggled to get his shoes off and lined neatly next to the other pairs set near the door. Shrugging out of his vest, he let it fall haphazardly on the shoes, waving his hand in the general direction of it. He was too tired to care where it landed or that it wasn’t actually in its proper place. Iruka went to drop his bag down next to his vest before remembering he still had papers to mark. He hunched forward in defeat, exhaustion weighing heavily upon him. _Such is life though_ , he thought, shuffling to the living room. 

Light shone from the open doorway of the bedroom. Soft snores beckoned him. Iruka couldn’t bring himself to walk the distance though, knowing the call of his bed would be too much. He _had_ to grade these papers; he told his class he would give them back tomorrow. If he had known at the time of telling them he would return them so quickly that he would be working full shifts at the mission desk four days in a row, which happened _after_ he had already been teaching all day, he wouldn’t have given a date for returning the essays. 

He could happily handle his six-hour shifts in the mission room after class let out in the afternoon, especially when they were only four days a week (and a full shift on the weekend), but it seemed that flu season had hit and the mission desk staff was hit hard. While there were normally three people manning the desk during busy hours, there was always at least two, except for the late hours when only a few people would trickle in and out. But low staff meant only one poor soul was working the desk and that poor soul in the afternoons the last four days was Iruka. It didn’t help that his shift started at the busiest time and didn’t taper off until well after eight in the evening. However, there seemed to be an increase in the amount of missions being taken, shinobi taking and completing missions at a higher rate than normal. Paperwork for these missions was getting backed up and misfiled, and it seemed that Iruka was the only desk worker who knew the archive system well enough to get everything in order properly, but it was taking time; time that Iruka didn’t have when he had a line that was seemingly endless. 

In short, everything was screwed up and Iruka was _very_ tired. 

He stifled a yawn while pulling out the stack of essays he hadn’t started marking yet. A small whimper left him before he could stop it, but he pushed forward, grabbing his pen. The essays wouldn’t grade themselves. 

The first essay he read was fine, the words only blurring slightly as he blinked rapidly to focus them. It was during the second one that he felt himself nodding off, his head bobbing forward. Iruka snapped his head up, rubbing his face. He could do this, he just had to focus. 

During the third essay, his head slipped from where it was perched on his hand, hitting the coffee table with a resounding thunk. 

“Fuck!” 

He rubbed his forehead, the pounding in his head intensifying. A sigh came from across the room. Iruka looked up to see Kakashi leaning against the wall to the hallway. 

“This is what happens when you overexert yourself.” 

“Don’t start with me, Hatake,” Iruka growled, trying to fix the line where his pen had marked when he fell asleep. He didn’t know how long he had been asleep before his head hit the table. 

Kakashi pushed off the wall, walking toward Iruka. 

“How long were you standing there?” Iruka asked, eyeing the other man. He was without a shirt, his sweats slung low on his hips. An eyepatch covered the Sharingan, but his face was devoid of his usual mask. His silver hair was even more mussed than usual from sleep. 

“Long enough. How long are you going to stay out here?” he asked, sitting behind Iruka, wrapping his warm arms around Iruka’s middle. He cuddled close, giving the back of Iruka’s neck a kiss. “You’ve been working a lot; you need your sleep.” 

“I still have to grade these essays. I told them I would hand them back tomorrow. And someone has to work the desk while everyone is out sick.” He unconsciously pushed back against his partner, taking comfort in the other’s arms. 

Kakashi hummed, but didn’t speak. Iruka knew what that noise meant though. 

“I can handle a few long shifts, Kakashi.” Irritation laced his tone. 

“Just because you can, doesn’t mean you should, love,” Kakashi said quietly, rubbing his nose against Iruka’s shoulder. “You need to make sure you take care of yourself. Even if that means the little anklebiters don’t get their papers back on the day you said they would. Besides, they adore you and would understand.” 

“I know, but—” 

“No buts, ‘Ru. It’s time for bed.” 

There was a finality in Kakashi’s voice that Iruka couldn’t argue with. Mostly, he was too tired to argue. His body was starting to ache from fatigue, both mental and physical. 

Kakashi scooted back, standing up in one graceful motion. That was how all of his movements were though, effortless and graceful. Iruka, on the other hand, was trying to push what little energy he had into the motions of getting up. He had managed to move back from the table, but couldn’t quite muster enough strength to get off the floor. He sat there for a moment, debating the merits of just laying down on the floor. 

The other man watched him, his eye twinkling with equal parts amusement and concern. 

“You can’t get up, can you?” Kakashi finally asked. 

Iruka huffed, “I can get up just fine, thank you. I’m just... comfortable here.” 

Kakashi raised his eyebrow and crossed his arms. 

“Fine, I can’t get up. Just help me already, I want to go to bed.” Iruka felt tears of frustration build behind his eyes, the pressure adding to his already aching head. He held out his hand toward Kakashi, waiting for the other man to take it. 

Kakashi reached down, gripping Iruka’s forearm and pulling him up. Iruka wobbled, not letting go of the other man. Kakashi took the opportunity to lift Iruka into his arms. 

“What are you doing?” Iruka squawked. 

“Carrying you to bed, obviously,” Kakashi replied, walking toward their bedroom, turning the light off as he went. “You couldn’t even stand, Iruka. Just let me take care of you.” 

The tears that Iruka had been holding back broke through, flowing down his cheeks. He ducked his head into Kakashi’s shoulder to hide his face, embarrassed about crying. 

“Hey, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?” Kakashi asked, concern evident in his voice. He placed Iruka on the bed gently, trying to pull back enough to get Iruka to look at him. 

“It’s stupid,” Iruka’s voice cracked. “I’m just so tired. I can usually handle these shifts, but...” He trailed off, not knowing what else to say. He felt like he was admitting defeat. He knew there were plenty of others who managed to deal with grueling schedules like this, that they survived this with less sleep and care than he did. He felt a little bit worthless and weak. 

Kakashi kneeled on the bed in front of Iruka, wiping away the remaining tears on Iruka’s face with his thumbs. He placed a soft kiss on Iruka’s forehead, then pulled him in close, wrapping his arms around him, one hand gently rubbing his back and the other moving over Iruka’s hair in soothing motions. 

“It’s not stupid. You’re exhausted. You’ve been pushing yourself too hard. I know you are dedicated to the people of this village, but you can’t maintain this schedule without there being consequences. Get some sleep, love. It will help you feel better.” 

Kakashi kept hold of Iruka, rocking them gently until he felt Iruka’s breathing even out. He laid him down on the bed gently before helping him out of his pants. He debated trying to get Iruka’s shirt off, but decided it wasn’t worth waking him up. Iruka would probably take the shirt off in his sleep at some point anyway. There was a reason he usually only slept in his boxers and it had everything to do with the fact that he turned into a heater when he was asleep. 

Kakashi turned out the light, climbing into bed next to Iruka. He wrapped himself around Iruka, who snuggled in closely, not making a sound. Kakashi worried about Iruka’s tendency to overwork himself, his commitment to everyone and everything. He knew these shifts wouldn’t last, that it was a temporary thing because of the situation, but Iruka always found more to do. His heart of gold was something that Kakashi loved though and he would do whatever he could to support Iruka, even if it meant forcing the man to get some rest and take care of himself once in awhile. Kakashi would always be there for Iruka, in any way he could. 

**Author's Note:**

> thanks for reading! comments and kudos feed my cuddle-deprived soul. 
> 
> stay safe and well out there. ♡
> 
> find me on [ tumblr](https://stupidbadgers.tumblr.com).


End file.
